Populations and AdaptationsPopulation is the count of a specific species at a specific time. Example: the human population on the Earth is around 8 billion.

Without natural factors like life expectancy, limited resources and predation, populations would grow exponentially. Without barriers to reproduction and life, populations would grow exponentially. 2 bunnies have two babies…then those and the originals have 2 babies…

2481632….and that’s if only 2 babies are born…This is called a J-curve, showing the big population boom at the beginning of the graph below.

When eventually a populations stabilizes due to restrictions like food, habitat, predators, etc then we say the population has hit the carrying capacity for that species in that environment. This curve looks like a small up and down as population grows and shrinks. This is an S-curve

1. Nothing hurt the eggs or flies in the example above, how many flies would there be in 2 generations?

2. What factors affect the maximum size of a wolf population in the Boreal Forest? (list 3)

3. What factors affect the population of mice in the food web shown below? (list and explain 3)

Adaptations, are how a species or individual adapts to its surroundings. These adaptations can be a behavior like hibernating or migration, or they could be a physical adaptation like claws, webbed feet or hollow bones.

4. For the species below, make a list of adaptations and label them as physical or behavioral. The first couple are labelled. List and describe at least 6 for each animal.

5. Pick an animal of your choice and describe a unique adaptation it has and why it evolved that adaptation.

Many adaptations occur in a species as it evolves to best survive in its surroundings. Often these adaptations take generations and thousands of years to undergo. Ex: did the giraffe always have long legs and a long neck, or did the species evolve to gain an advantage of reaching higher food supplies.

The adaptation of having a long neck allows the giraffe to reach more food. More food allows it to better survive and reproduce in its environment, so that will drive its evolution for future generations. More of the longer neck parts of the population will be better adapted to survive so the species offspring will start inheriting those genes and have longer necks themselves.

6. What are genes?`